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SPEECH 



OF 



WILLIAM H'. SEWARD, 



ON THE 



CLAIMS OF THE OFFICERS OF THE REVOLUTIONARY ARMY ; 






DELIVERED 



AN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, JANUARY 5, 1857 



WASHINGTON: 

PRINTED AT THE CONGRESSIONAL GLOBE OFFICE 

1857. 



/ 



CLAIMS OF THE OFFICERS OF THE REVOLUTIONARY ARMY. 



Mr. SEWARD said: 

Mr. President, the American Revolution had 
its origin in a conflict between the desire of Great 
Britain for power on this continent, manifested 
by early encroachments on the civil rights of her 
colonies and later restrictions on their commerce, 
and an abhorrence on their part of every form of 
tyranny or oppression. 

Although Massachusetts enjoyed the sympa- 
thy of the other colonies, she stood alone when 
the contest began. So early as 1768, seven hun- 
dred British regular troops, with muskets charged 
and bayonets fixed, entered Boston as a hostile 
city. Six years afterwards, British forces forti- 
fied Boston Neck. In October, 1774, the Royal 
Governor dissolved the Legislative Assembly of 
Massachusetts. They immediately reassembled 
and reorganized themselves as a Provincial Con- 
gress, and directed the equipment of twelve thou- 
sand volunteers, and an enrollment of one fourth 
of the militia as minute men. A few other colo- 
nies, about the same time, adopted less extensive 
but similar preparations. Practically, all the 
troops raised were volunteers, or militia enrolled 
for occasional or at least short terms of service. 
Such were the forces that met the British detach- 
ment at Lexington and Concord, and immediately 
thereafter stretched an encampment from Rox- 
bury to the Mystic. Such also were those who 
received the* British assault on Bunker Hill, as 
well as those who conquered Ticonderoga and 
Crown Point. 

It was not until the 6th of July, 1775, that a 
defensive alliance was formed by the Colonies to 
maintain the cause of Massachusetts as theirown. 
The Congress of Delegates, then at Philadelphia, 
announced their purpose of resistance to the 
people of Great Britain in these terse and earnest 
words: 

" Wc are reduced to the alternative of choosing an un- 
conditional submission to the tyranny of wicked Ministers^ 



or resistance by force. The latter is onr choice. We have 
counted the cost of this contest, and find nothing so dread- 
ful as voluntary slavery." 

The Congress resolved that an array of twenty 
thousand men should be raised, and appointed 
George Washington commander-in-chief of all 
the forces already raised, as well as all to be 
afterwards levied for the defense of American 
liberty. The alliance of the Colonies thus formed 
was merely voluntary; and it wa3 not until 1781 
that the Articles of Confederation which formed 
the first Federal Constitution were fully adopted. 

Washington by degrees developed a.milit.vy 
policy which encountered strenuous opposiuon 
throughout the whole revolution, and which, in 
fact, was never fully adopted by Congress, or the 
Colonies, or States. The present question is a 
consequence of that conflict. Washington's policy 
required — 

1st. A common, or as it was then and ap»'' 17 
called, a continental army, instead of sepaj 
provincial or State corps. 

2d. A regular army enlisted and appointee 
serve during the war, instead of volunteer 
militia. 

3d. A continental treasury supplied with ta; 3 
and loans by Federal authority, instead of tl - 
teen distinct provincial or State treasuries, s| - 
plied by local taxation and voluntarily conti - 
uting on requisitions to the continental treas- 
ury. 

4th. An establishment of the officers of the army 
by annuities of half pay after the war should clcse, 
and during their lives. 

While all the parts of this policy encountered 
much difficulty, the last was from the very beg n- 
ning peculiarly obnoxious, for reasons wh vh 
commended themselves to the sentiments ol a 
republican people, imbued with recollections >f 
! ttie s'truggfe in England which had secured a>n- 
{ stitutional liberty to all British subjects. I frill 



trate. Henry Laurens, so long President of 
gress, said: 

view the scheme as altogether unjust and unconsti- 
lal in its nature, and full of dangerous consequences. 
n unhappy dilemma to which we seem to be reduced — 
ile for your officers in terms dictated to you, or lose all 
iluable soldiers among them ; establish a pension for 
rs ; make them a separate body to be provided for by 
onest yeomanry and others of their fellow-citizens, 
thousands of whom have equal claims upon every 
id of loss of estate and health, or lose your army and 
cause." — 5 Sparks's Writings of Washington, p. 384. 

r illiam Livingston, Governor of New Jersey, 

n ray private judgment, I should be totally against the 
of allowing the officers half pay after the war ; it is a 
pernicious precedent in republican States, will load 
ith an immense debt, and render the pensioners them- 
s in a great measure useless to their country."— 5 
ks, p. 386. 

gain, Henry Laurens said: 

f we cannot make justice one of the pillars, necessity 
be submitted to at present, but republicans will at a 
it time withdraw a grant which shall appear to have 
extorted." — 5 Sparks, p. 385. 

i the summer of 1775, and the winter follow- 
Washington was at Cambridge, organizing 
ie face of a British army constantly augment- 
and supported by a British fleet, a conti- 
tal army out of the provincial forces which 
assembled there in the enthusiasm of the first 
>reak of popular resistance, 
n the 10th of July, 1775, he wrote to Con- 
js: 

Ifter much difficulty and delay, I have procured such 
■ns of the state of the army as will enable us to form a 
rment of its strength. It is with great concern, I find it 
: inadequate to our general expectations, and the duties 
may be required of it." * * * * "I cannot estimate 
Dresent army as more than fourteen thousand men." — 
arks, p. 14. 

[e called a council of war, in which it was 
jrmined to recruit in Massachusetts, to in- 
tse the force of her regiments, and to apply 
ter Provincial Congress for a temporary rein- 
^ement. While communicating these facts, 
prayed secrecy concerning them on the part 
Congress, because an exposure of the weak- 
s of the army might encourage the enemy to 
ke a sally, and attack their lines. 
)n the 21st of September, 1775, Washington 
3te to Congress: 

The mode in which the present army has been col- 
ed has occasioned some difficulty in procuring the sub- 
ption of both officers and soldiers to the continental 
clcs of war. Their principal objection has been that it 
lit subject them to a longer service than that for which 
y are engaged under their several provincial establish- 
es. It is in vain to attempt to reason away the preju- 
ss of a whole army, often instilled, and, in this instance 
least, encouraged, by the officers from private and nar- 
r views. I have, therefore, forborne pressing them." 



* * * * " With the present army I fear such 
a subscription is impracticable."— 3 Sparks, p. 98. 

On the 30th of October, 1775, Washington 
wrote to Congress: 

" I immediately began by directing all such officers as 
proposed to continue to signify their intention as soon as 
possible. A great number of the returns are come in, from 
which I find that a very great proportion of the officers of 
the rank of captain and under will retire ; from present 
appearances, I may say half; but at least one third. It is 
with some concern, also, that I observe that many of the 
officers who retire discourage the continuance of the men, 
and I fear will communicate the infection to them. Some 
have advised that those officers, who decline the service, 
should be immediately dismissed ; but this would be very 
dangerous and inconvenient." — 3 Sparks, p. 137. 

On the 11th of November, 1775, Washington 
wrote to Congress: 

" The trouble I have in the arrangement of the army is 
really inconceivable. Many of the officers sentin their names 
to serve in expectation of promotion. Others stood aloof to 
see what advantage they could make to themselves, whilst 
a number who had declined, have again sent in their names 
to serve" * * * * " The difficulty with the 
soldiers is as great, indeed more so if possible. 

" They will not enlist until they know their colonel, lieu- 
tenant colonel, major, and captain." * * * 
" You can much easier judge than I can express the anxiety 
of mind t must labor under on the occasion, especially at 
this time, when we may expect the enemy will begin to act 
on the arrival of their reinforcement, part of which is al- 
ready come, and the remainder daily dropping in." — 3 
Sparks, p. 156. 

On the 10th of February, 1776, in a letter to 
Joseph Reed in Congress, he states that the army 
is destitute of money, of powder, of arms, of a 
brigadier, of engineers, of expresses, and even 
of tents, although daily expecting to take the field; 
and then proceeds: 

" These are evils but small in comparison of those which 
disturb my present repose. Our enlistments are at a stand. 
The fears that I have entertained are realized — that is, the 
discontented officers (for I do not know how else to account 
for it) have thrown such difficulties or stumbling blocks in 
the way of recruiting, that I no longer entertain a hope of 
completing the army by voluntary enlistments, and I see no 
move or likelihood to do it by other means." * * * 
" Our total number upon paper amounts to about ten thou- 
sand five hundred ; but as a large number ol these are re- 
turned not joined, I never expect to receive them, as an inef- 
fectual order has once issued to call them in. Another is now 
gone forth peremptorily requiring all officers, under pain ot 
being cashiered, and recruits of being treated as deserters, 
to join their respective regiments." * * * * 
"The reflection on my situation, and that of this army, pro- 
duces many an unhappy hour when all around me are 
wrapped in sleep." * * * * "If I shall 
be able to rise superior to these and many other difficulties, 
which might be enumerated, I shall most religiously believe 
that the finger of Providence is in it, to blind the eyes of our 
enemies; for surely, if we get well through this month, it 
must be for want of their knowing the disadvantages we 
labor under." — 3 Sparks, p. 238. 

The British army, overawed by the masterly 
combinations and demonstrations which Wash- 



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will the officer ever meet with that respect which is essen- 
tially necessary to due subordination. 

" To place any dependence upon militia is assuredly 
resting upon a broken start'. Men just dragged from the 
tender scenes of domestic life, unaccustomed to the din of 
arms, totally unacquainted with every kind of military 
<kill (which is followed by a want of confidence in them- 
-elves when opposed to troops regularly trained, disciplined, 
and appointed, superior in knowledge and superior in arms) 
are timid and ready to fly from their own shadows." " * 

* * "To bring men to a proper degree of subordination 
is not the work of a day, a month, or even a year.'" 

* * "The jealousy of a standing army and the evils to 
he apprehended are remote, and in my judgment, situated 
and circumstanced as we are, not at all to be dreaded, but 
the consequence of wanting one, according to my ideas 
formed from the present view of things, is certain and in- 
evitable ruin." * * * ****** 

•• An army formed of good officers, moves like clock- 
work; but there is no situation upon earth less enviable or 
more distressing, than that person's who is at the head of 
troops regardless of order and discipline, and unprovided 
with almost even- necessary." * * * .. j t 

will be impossible, unless there is a thorough change in 
•>ur military system, for me to conduct matters in such a 
manner as to give satisfaction to the public, which is all 
the recompense I aim at or ever wish for." — 1 Sparks, p. 
110. 

The importunate appeals of Washington ob- 
tained from Congress at this time, resolutions 
for reforming the army in eighty-eight battalions, 
to serve during the war, to be apportioned, how- 
ever, among the States, and to be levied, offi- 
cered, and paid with bounties and bounty 
lands. 

The resolutions, however, proved ineffectual. 
(4 Sparks, p. 116.) 

Arrived at Hackensack with the remnant of 
the army, he reported to Congress on the 19th 
of November, 1776, the new disasters of the 
campaign, crowned by the losses of Fort Wash- 
ington and Fort Lee, by which the Upper Hud- 
son and the entire North were exposed to immi- j 
nent danger, He adds: 

" It is a matter of great grief and surprise to me to find 
the different States so slow and inattentive to that essen- | 
rial business of levying their quotas of men. In ten days 
from this date, there will not be above two thousand men, I 
if that number, of the fixed established regiments on this 
side of Hudson's river, to oppose Howe's whole army, and 
very little more on the other to secure the eastern colonies 
and the important passes leading through the Highlands to 
Albany, and the country about the Lakes." * * * 

"Last fail or winter, before the army which w-as then to 
be raised was set about, I represented, in clear and explicit ' 
terms, the evils which would arise from short enlistments, 
•he expense which must attend the raising an army even- 
year, the futility of such an army when raised ; and if I 
had spoken with a prophetic spirit, I could not have fore- 
told the evils with more accuracy than I did." * * * 
" But the measure was not commenced till it was too late 
to be effected, and then in such a manner as to bid adieu 
to every hope of getting an army from which any services 
are to be expected ; the different States, without regard to 
the qualifications of an officer, quarreling about the appoint- 
ments, and nominating such as were not fit to be shoe- 



blacks, from the local attachments of this or that member 
of Assembly. 

" I am wearied, almost to death, with the retrograde 
motion of things; and t solemnly protest, that a pecuniary 
reward of twenty thousand pounds a year would not induce 
me to undergo what I do, and after all. perhaps, to lose my 
character." — 4 Sparks, p. 183. 

Oil the 5th of December, 1776, at Trenton, 
Washington reported his continued retreat, ren- 
dered necessary by the failure of expected rein- 
forcements, and by the refusal of the New Jersey 
and Maryland brigades to remain in the service 
a day longer, their term having expired. Ho 
continued: 

" These, among ten thousand other instances, might be 
adduced to show the disadvantages of short enlistments, 
and the little dependence upon the militia in times of real 
danger." ********* 

•• My first wish is, that Congress may be convinced of 
the impropriety of relying upon the militia, and of the 
necessity of raising a larger standing army than what they 
have voted." ******** 

" I mention these tilings to show that, in my opinion, if 
any dependence is placed on the militia another year Con- 
gress will be deceived. When danger is a little removed 
from them they will not turn out at all. When it comes 
home to them, the well affected, instead of flying to anus 
to defend themselves, are busily employed in removing 
their families and effects, whilst the disaffected are con- 
certing measures to make their submission, and spread 
terror and dismay all around, to induce others to follow 
their example." — 4 Sparks, p. 203. 

Ten days later, December 15, 1776, having 
crossed the Delaware and there found a place of 
present safety, Washington resumed his appea 
to Congress: 

"The spirit of disaffection which appears in this country 
1 think desenes your serious attention. Instead of givin 
any assistance in repelling the enemy, the militia have no 
only refused to obey our general summons and that of tliei 
commanding officers, but I am told exult at the approach 
of the enemy and on our late misfortunes. I beg leave 
therefore, to submit to your consideration whether such 
people are to be trusted with anus in their hands." — 
4 Sparks, p. 223. 

On the 16th of December, 1776, at the same 
place, Washington wrote to Congress: 

" A large part of Jersey has been exposed to ravage and 
to plunder, nor do I know that Pennsylvania would share 
a better fate could General Howe effect a passage acros 
the Delaware with a respectable force. These considera- 
tions have induced me to wish that no reRance except such 
as may arise from necessity should ever be had on the 
militia again ; and to make further mention to Congress 
of the expediency of increasing their army. I trust this 
measure will meet their earnest attention." — 1 Sparks, 
p. 225. 

On the 18th December, 1776, Washington 
expressed at once his despondence and his reso- 
lution in a touching private letter to John Augus- 
tine Washington: 

" Between you and me, I think our affairs are in a very 
bad condition ; not so much from the apprehension of Gen- 
eral Howe's army, as from the defection of New York, the 



Jerseys, and Pennsylvania. In short, the conduct of the 
Jerseys has been most infamous. Instead of turning out 
to defend our country and affording aid to our army, they 
are making their submissions as fast as they can. If the 
Jerseys had given us any support, we might have made a 
stand at Hackensack, and after that at Brunswick. But the 
few militia that were in arms disbanded themselves, and 
lei": the poor remains of our army to make the best we could 
of it." ***** «•' iu a word, my dear sir,! 
if every nerve is not strained to recruit the new army with 
all possible expedition, I think the game is pretty nearly j 
up, owing in a great measure to the insidious arts of the 
enemy, and disaffection of the Colonies before mentioned, ! 
but principally to the ruinous policy of short enlistments 
and placing too great dependence on the militia, the evil i 
consequences of which were foretold fifteen months ago." 
* * * * " You can form no idea of the per- 
plexity of my situation : no man I believe ever had a greater 
choice of difficulties, and less means to extricate himself 
from them. However, under a full persuasion of the justice 
of our cause. I cannot entertain an idea that it will finally 
sink, though it may remain for some time under a cloud." 
— 1 Sparks, p. 209. 

Two days later, (December 20, 177G,) at the 
same place, Washington applied to Congress for 
enlarged and discretionary powers, and urged 
that the new army should be augmented from 
eighty-eight to a hundred and ten battalions. 
The appeal is marked with feeling not less than 
with force : 

t; I rather think the design of General Howe is to possess 
himself of Philadelphia this winter if possible, and in truth 
I do not see what is to prevent him. as ten days more will ! 
put an end to the existence of our army.'-" * * * 
" It may be said that this is an application for powers that 
are too dangerous to be entrusted. I can only add that 
desperate diseases require desperate remedies, and I with 
truth declare that I have no lust after power." * * * 
" It is needless to add that short enlistments and a mis- 
taken' dependence upon militia, have been the origin of all 
our misfortunes and the great accumulation of our debt. 
We rind that the enemy are daily gathering strength from 
the disaffected. This strength, like a snowball, by rolling, 
will increase, unless some means can be devised to check 
effectually the progress of the enemy's arms." * * * 
" Could anything but the river Delaware have saved Phil- 
adelphia : Can anything be more destructive to the recruit- 
ing sen-ice, than giving ten dollars bounty for six weeks' 
service of the militia, who come in, you cannot tell how, go, 
you cannot tell when, and act you cannot tell where— con- 
sume your provisions, exhaust your stores, and leave you 
at last at a critical moment?" * * * * 

•• If any good officers will offer to raise men upon con- 
tinental pay and establishment in this quarter, I shall 
encourage them to do so. and regiment them when they 
have done it. If Congress disapprove of this proceeding, 
they will please to signify it, as I mean it for the best. It 
may be thought that I am going a good deal out of the line 
of my duty to adopt these measures, or to advise thus freely. 
A character to lose— an estate to forfeit, the inestimable 
blessings of liberty at stake, and a life devoted, must be my 
excuse. — 1 Sparks, p. 235. 

On the 9th of January, 1777, Washington had, 
with marvelous dexterity and enterprise, recross- 
ed the Delaware, surprised the British forces at 
Trenton and Princeton, and then had established 



himself at Morristown. Congress had so far 
yielded to his importunities as to direct an addi- 
tion of sixteen battalions to the new army, and 
to authorize Washington himself to commission 
their officers. In a letter to Colonel Baylor, who 
was forming one of those regiments, he shows 
the importance of good officers: 

"I earnestly recommend to you to be circumspect in 
your choice of officers — take none but gentlemen ; let no 
local attachments influence you; do not suffer your good 
nature, when an application is made, to say yes when you 
ought to say no. Keniember that it is a public, not a private 
cause, that is to be injured or benefited by your choice. 
Recollect also that no instance has yet happened of good or 
bad behavior in a corps in our service, that has not origin- 
ated with the officers. Do not take old men, nor yet rill 
your corps with boys— especially for captains." — 1 Sparks, 
p. 269. 

The capture of Philadelphia was the great en- 
terprise of the enemy in the campaign of 1777, 
then about to open. Washington was yet at 
Morristown. On the Sth of April, 1777, he wrote 
to Governor Johnson, of Maryland: 

" I must content myself with improving on the future 
chances of war. Even this cannot be done unless the offi- 
cers can be persuaded to abandon their comfortable quarters 
and take the field. Let me, therefore, in the most earnest 
terras, beg that they may be forwarded without loss of 
time." — 1 Sparks, p. 386. 

On the 12th of April, 1777, Washington says, 
in a letter to John Augustine Washington: 

" It seems next to impossible to make our officers in any 

[ of the Stales exert themselves in bringing their men to tile 

field, as if it were a matter of moonshine whether they 

come to-day, to-morrow, a week, or a month hence. " — 1 

Sparks, p. ^7. 

Fourteen days later, Washington exposes the 
fearful consequences of the parsimony exercised 
in regard to officers. He wrote to General Glover 
April 26, 1777: 

i " I have, with great concern, observed tne almost uni- 
versal listlessness that prevails throughout the continent, 
and I believe that nothing has contributed to it more than 
the resignation of officers who stepped early forward and 
led the people into the great cause in which we are too 
deeply embarked to look back or to hope for any other terms 
than those we can gain by the sword. Can any resistance 

i be expected by the people when deserted by their leaders ? 
Our enemies count upon the resignation of every officer 

i of rank at this time as a distrust of and desertion from the 
cause, and rejoice accordingly." — 1 Sparks, p. 399. 

A letter written by Washington to Lincoln the 
next day, (April 27, 1777,) exposes the corrup- 
tion of many of the officers: 

■• I am well convinced that the amazing desertions which 
have of late prevailed among our troops, proceed entirely 
from their not being regularly paid." * * * * -• I have 
in vain endeavored to make the officers bring in their pay- 
roll and draw their money. They plead an excuse that, 
as they are so detached, they cannot possibly make up 
regular rolls, and there may be something in this : but there 
is a cause which I fear will be found, upon examination, 
too true ; and that is, that the officers have drawn large 



sums under pretense of paying their men, but have been 
obliged, from extravagance and for other purposes, to appro- 
priate this money to their own use." — 4 Sparks, p. 402. 

I leap over an eventful period of six months. 
The capture of Burgoyne in October, and the 
prospect of a French alliance, throw gleams of 
hope upon the darkened wintry way of the army 
of Washington, as it seeks winter quarters at 
Valley Forge, exhausted by the loss of the two 
memorable pitched battles at the Brandy wine and 
Germantown, and the evacuation of Philadelphia. 

Washington, on the 17th of October, 1777, 
wrote to Richard Henry Lee in Congress: 

" In a word, the service is so difficult, and every neces- 
sary so expensive, that almost all our officers are tired out. 
Do not, therefore, afford them good pretexts for retiring. 
No day passes over my head without applications for leave 
to resign. 

" Within the last six days I am certain twenty comrais 
sions at least have been tendered to me. I must therefore 
-conjure you to conjure Congress to consider this matter 
well, and not, by a real act of injustice, compel some good 
officers to leave the service, and thereby incur a train of 
evils unforseen and irremediable." — 5 Sparks, p. 98. 

Arrived at Valley Forge on the 23d of Decem- 
ber, 1777, Washington wrote to Congress: 

•• I am now convinced, beyond a doubt, that, unless some 
great and capital change suddenly takes place in that line, 
[commissaries' department,] this army must inevitably be 
reduced to one or the other of these three things— starved, 
dissolved, or dispersed— in order to obtain subsistence in 
the best manner they can." ***** 

" I shall add a word or two to show, first, the necessity 
of some better provision for binding the officers by the tie 
of interest to the service, as no day, nor scarce an hour, 
passes without the offer of a resigned commission. (Oth- 
erwise I much doubt the practicability of holding the army 
together much longer; and in this I shall probably be 
thought the more sincere when I freely declare that I do 
not myself expect to derive the smallest benefit from any 
-^tabrishment that Congress may adopt, otherwise than as 
. member of the community at large, in the good which I 
am persuaded will result from the measure by making 
better officers and better troops.") — 5 Sparks, p. 197. 

Washington, still at Valley Forge, wrote to 
Congress on the 24th of March, 1778: 

" As it is not improper for Congress to have some idea 
of the present temper of the army, it may not be amiss to 
remark in this place that, since the month of August last, 
between two and three hundred- officers have resigned their 
commissions, and many others were with difficulty dis- 
suaded from it. In the Virginia line only, not less than six 
eolonels, as good as any in the service, have left it lately, 
and more, I am told, are in the humor to do so." — 5 Sparks, 
p. 295. 

On the 3d of April, 1778, at Valley Forge, 
Washington wrote to Colonel Hall: 

" From the crisis at which our affairs have arrived, and 
(she frequent defection of officers, seduced by views of pri- 
vate interest and emolument to abandon the cause of their 
country, I think every man who does not merely make pro- ', 
fession of patriotism is bound by indissoluble ties to remain 
i) the army." — 6 Sparks, p. 304. 

On the 10th of April, 1778, the subject of annu- 1 



ities, by way of half pay to the officers, breaks 
upon us with startling distinctness in this inter- 
esting correspondence. 

Washington writes to Congress: 

" It may be said by some that my wish to see the officers 
of this army upon a more respectable establishment, is the 
cause of my solicitude, and carries me too far. To such 
I can declare that my anxiety proceeds from the causes 
above mentioned. If my opinion is asked with respect U> 
the necessity of making this provision for the officers, I am 
ready to declare that I do most religiously believe the sal- 
vation of the cause depends upon it, and without it your 
officers will molder to nothing, or be composed of low and 
illiterate men, void of capacity for this or any other busi- 
ness. To prove this, I can with truth aver, that scarce a 
day passes without the offer of two or three commissions ; 
and my advices from the eastward and southward are, that 
numbers who had gone home on furlough mean not to 
return, but are establishing themselves in more lucrative 
employments. Let Congress determine what will be the 
consequence of this spirit. Personally, as an officer, I 
have no interest in their decision ; because I have declared, 
and I now repeat it, that I never will receive the smallest 
benefit from the half pay establishment; but as a man who 
fichts under the weight of a proscription, and as a citiaen 
who wishes to see the liberty of his country established 
upon a permanent foundation, and whose property depends 
upon the success of our arms, I am deeply interested. 

" But, all this apart, and justice out of the question , upon 
the single ground of economy and public saving I will main- 
tain the utility of it, for I have not the least doubt, that 
until officers consider their commissions in an honorable 
and interested point of view, and are afraid to endanger 
tliein by negligence and inattention, no order, regularity, or 
care, either of men or public property, will prevail. To 
prove this, I need only refer to the general courts-martial 
which are constantly sitting for the trial of them, and the 
number who have been cashiered within the last three 
months for misconduct of different kinds. 

" At no period since the commencement of the war have 
I felt more painful sensations on account of delay than at 
present, and, urged by them, I have expressed myself with- 
out reserve." * ****** 

" The disadvantages resulting from the frequent resigna- 
tions in the Virginia line, the change of commanding offi- 
cers to the regiments, and other causes equally distressing, 
have injured that corps beyond conception, and have baen 
the means of reducing very respectable regiments to a men; 
handful of men. And this will ever be thecase, till officers 
can be fixed by something equivalent to the sacrifice they 
make. To reason otherwise, and suppose that public vir- 
tue alone will enable them to forego the ease and comforts 
of life to encounter the hardships and dangers of war for a 
bare subsistence, when their companions and friends are 
amassing large fortunes, is viewing human nature rather as 
it should be, than as it really is."— 5 Sparks, p. 312. 

On the 21st of April, 1778, Washington wrote 
to John Banister, in Congress: 

" Be assured the success of the measure [half pay ] is a 
matter of the most serious moment, and that it ought to be 
brought to a conclusion as speedily as possible. The spirit 
of resigning commissions has been long at an alarming 
height, and increases daily. The Virginia line has sus- 
tained a violent shock in this instance— not less than ninetv 
have already resigned to me." * * * * 

" There are but too just grounds to fear that it will shake 



s 



"he very existence of the army, unless a remedy is soon — 
very soon applied. There is none, in my opinion, so effect- 
ual as the one pointed out. This, I trust, will satisfy the 
officers, and, at the same time, it will produce no present 
emission of money. They will not be persuaded to sacri- 
rice all views of present interest, and encounter the numer- 
ous vicissitudes of war in the defense of their country, 
unless she will be generous enough, on her part, to make a 
decent provision for their future support." * * 

• ; It is, indeed, hard to say how extensive the evil maybe 
if the measure should be rejected, or much longer delayed. 
1 find it a very arduous task to keep the officers in tolerable 
humor, and to protract such a combination for quitting the 
service as might possibly undo us forever. 

•• The difference between our service and that of the 
eueuiy is very striking. With us, from the peculiar unhappy 
situation of things, the officers— a few instances excepted — 
i nust break in upon their private fortunes for present support, 
without a prospect of future relief. With them even com- 
panies are esteemed so honorable and so valuable that they 
have sold of late for from fifteen to twenty hundred poands 
sterling ; and I am credibly informed, that four thousand 
ruineas have been given for a troop of dragoons. 

■ • You will readily determine how this difference will 
operate — what effects it must produce. 

•■ Men may speculate as they will : they may talk of patri- 
otism ; they may draw a few examples from ancient story 
of great achievements performed by its influence ; but who- 
< ver builds upon them as a sufficient basis for conducting 
-i long and bloody war, will find himself deceived in the 
■ nd. 

•• We must take the passions of men as nature has given 
'iiern, and those principles as a guide which are generally 
the [rule of action." ***** 

•• The enemy are beginning to play a game more danger- 
ous than their efforts by arms, which threatens a fatal blow 
to the independence of America, and of course to her lib- 
erties. They are endeavoring to ensnare the people by 
specious allurements of peace." * * * 

• ; Men are naturally fond of peace, and there are symp- 
toms which may authorize an opinion that the people of 
America are pretty generally weary of the present war. 
It is doubtful whether many of our friends might not in- ' 
line to an accommodation on the grounds held out, or 
which may be, rather than persevere in a contest for inde- 
fndence. If this is the case, it must surely be the truest 
olicy to strengthen the army, and place it upon a substan- 
ial footing.*-' * * * * * * * 

"The other point is the jealousy which Congress un- 
aptly entertain of the army, and which, if reports are 
isrht. some members labor to establish. You maybe as- 
ured there is nothing more injurious or more unfounded. 
This jealousy stands upon the commonly received opinion. 
which, under proper limitations, is certainly true, that stand- 
iBg armies are dangerous to a State. The prejudices in 
other countries have only gone to them in time of peace. 
:tnd these from their not having in general cases any of 
the ties, the concerns, or interests.of citizens, nor any other 
dependence than what flowed from their military employ- 
in short, from their being mercenaries, hirelings. It is our 
policy to be prejudiced against them in time of war. though 
they are citizens, having all the ties and interests of citi- 
zens, and in many cases property, totally unconnected 
with a military line." ****** 

•' It is unjust, because no order of men in the Thirteen 
atates has paid a more sacred regard to the proceedings of 
Congress than the army ; for without arrogance or the 
smallest deviation from truth, it may be said, that no history 



now extant can furnish an instance of an army suffering 
such uncommon hardships as ours has done, and bearing 
them with the same patience and fortitude. 

" To see men without clothes to cover their nakedness, 
without blankets to lie on, without shoes, (for the want of 
which their marches might be traced by the blood from 
their feet.) and almost as often without provisions as with 
them — marching through the frost and snow, and at Christ- 
mas taking up their winter quarters within a day's march 
of the enemy, without a honse or hut to cover them, till 
they could be built, and submitting without a murmur is a 
proof of patience and obedience which, in my opinion, can 
scarce be paralleled." — 5 Sparks, p. 231. 

On the 2oth of April, 1778, "Washington wrote 
to Gouverneur Morris, in Congress: 

'•' You say, cli may yet be icetl. I wish it heartily ; but I 
am much mistaken if there are not some secret and retro- 
grade springs in motion to disprove it, I wish yoa could 
announce the provision for officers concluded. It seems 
to me the basis of all our operations. Resignation after 
resignation is taking place, not here only, but of officers 
acting east of Hudson's river." — 5 Sparks, p. 339. 

On the 30th of April, 177S, Washington wrote 
to Congress: 

"I sincerely wish the provision for officers, so long the 
subject of discussion, was established. It is certainly 
equitable, and in my opinion essential. Day after day. and 
hour after hour, produce resignations. If they were con- 
fined to bad officers, or to those of little or no character, 
they would be of no consequence ; but it is painful to see 
men who are of a different cast, who have rendered great 
services to their country, and who are still and may be 
most materially wanted, leaving the army on the account 
of the distresses oftheir families, and to repair their circum- 
stances, which have been much injured by their zeal, and 
the part they have taken in defense of our common rights. 
The provision, if adopted, would not produce present relief, 
nor a present expense ; yet it would be a compensation in 
future for their misfortunes and their toils, and be some 
support to their injured constitutions." — 5 Sparks, p. 350. 

We have now reached the first important 91 
in the progress of this great question. On the 
15th of May, 177S, the Congress "yielded to the 
arguments of Washington, so far as to attempt 
to settle it by a compromise, which was, to prom- 
ise annuities of half pay for seven years on cer- 
tain conditions. 

" Resolved, unanimously, That all military officers com- 
missioned by Congress, who now are, or hereafter ma; 
in the service of the United States, and shall continue 
therein during the war, and not hold any office of ptcn 
under these States, or any of them, shall, alter lhe con- 
clusion of the war, be entitled to receive annually, for the 
term of seven years, if they live so long, one hall" of the 
present pay of such officers: Provided, That bo general 
officer of the cavalry, artillery, or infantry, shall be entitled 
to receive more than the one half pay of a colonel of such 
corps respectively: *ind provided, That this resolution 
shall not extend to any officer in the service of the United 
Suites, unless he shall have taken an oath of allegiance to. 
and shall actually reside within, some one of the United 
States. 

'•' Resolved, unanimottsly, That every non-commissioned 
military officer and soldier who hath enlisted, or shall 
enlist, into the service of these States, for and during the 



9 



war, and shall continue therein to the end thereof, shall he ( 
entitled to receive the further reward of eighty dollars at 
the expiration of the war.»-Jo«rnal of Congress, vol. u., , 
p. 554. 

Washington acknowledged the receipt of the 
information of the passage of these resolutions m 
a letter, written at Valley Forge, to Gouvemeur 
Morris, on the 18th of May, just on the eve ot 
breaking up the encampment, and taking the 
field, but altogether bewildered as to the purposes 
of the enemy, or the character or the scene of 
the opening campaign. He said: 



« Your favor of the 15th instant gave me singular pleas- , 
urc. I thank vou for the agreeable intelligence it contains, 
which, though not equal to my wishes, exceeded my anti- 
cipations, and is to be lamented only for the delay. The 
evils, in consequence of Uiis, will soon, as I have often 
foretold, be manifested in the moving state of the army."- 
5 Sparks, p. 370. 

We shall see, in this case, what is so com- 
monly seen in political affairs, that compromises 
are very unsatisfactory and unreliable settlements 
of vexed questions. . 

I shall not stop in my review until 1 nna • 
Washington, the army, and the country, under; 
circumstances very decidedly changed. It is 
now the autumn of 1780. A French alliance has 
been completed, and a French cooperating fleet 
is maneuvering on the coast. The British army 
have «riven up Philadelphia, and retreated to -New 
York? A shameful retreat of the American army 
before them has been converted by Washington's 
personal bravery into a brilliant field triumph 
over them at Monmouth. 

The massacres at Wyoming, Cherry Valley, 
and Minisink, have been committed, and signally 
punished. Savannah has fallen, and Virginia and 
South Carolina have become battle-grounds. The 
British have carried Stoney Point and Verplank s 
Point. West Point has only just been saved by j 
the detection of Arnold in the very act of treach- 
erously surrendering it; and Washington has: 
halted at Tappan to close the most interesting 
act in the whole drama of the Revolution, by the 
trial and execution of Andre. 

On the 4th of October, 1780, Washington wrote 
to John Matthews, in Congress: 

- As Congress has already allowed the alternative of 
raising me/for twelve months, opinions on the propriety 
of the measure can be of no avail ; but since you have done 
me the honor to ask mine, I have no scruple in declanng 
thai I most firmly believe the independence of the United 
States never will be established till there is an army on foot 
for the war."'— 7 Sports, p- 233. 

The subject of half pay was still occupying the 
attention of Congress, notwithstanding the com- 
promise which had been made. 
i On the 24th of August, 1780, Congress re- 
solved: 



I widows of those officers who have died, or shall hereafter 

die, in the service; to commence from the time of such 

I officer's death, and continue for the term of seven years ; 

i or, if mere be no widow, in the case of her death or inter- 

i marriage, Uie said half pay be given to the orphan children 

': of the officer dying as aforesaid, if he shall have left any ; 

and that it shall be recommended to the Legislatures of the 

respective States, to which such officers belong, to make 

provision for paying the same, on account of the United 

! States. 

' " That the restricting clause in the resolution of May 15, 
! J 1778, granting half pay to the officers for seven years, ex- 
pressed in these words, namely : ' and not hold any offiee 
! j of profit under these States, or any of them ;' be, and is 
' hereby, repealed."— Journal of Congress, August 24, 1780. 



Thus, the proposed half pay for seven years, 
! was now promised to be extended to widows of 
officers who had died, or might afterwards die, in 
the service; and the condition of exclusion of 
i beneficiaries from civil service was relinquished. 
Washington was now consulted by Congress 
i concerning the expediency of consolidating the 
I decayed regiments of the army. On the 11th of 
! October, 1780, he gave his reply: 



•• That the resolution of May 15. 1778. granting half pay 
for seven years to the officers of the army who should con- 
tinue in service to the end of the war, be extended to the 



i " That there are the most conclusive reasons for reducing 
, the number of regiments, no person acquainted with the 
situation of our affairs and the state of the army will deny. 
A want of officers, independently of other considerations, 
1 is sufficient to compel us ; but that the temper of the army, 
produced by its suffering, requires great caution in any re- 
forms that are attempted, is a position not less evident than 
the former. In the services the best established, where the 
hands of Government are strengthened by the strongest in- 
; terest of the army for submission, the reducing of its regi- 
l ments, and dismissing a great part of its officers, is always 
' a measure of delicacy and difficulty. In ours, where the 
\ ! officers are held by the feeblest ties, and moldering away by 
daily resignations, it is peculiarly so." 
« In the maturity to which their uneasiness has now risen 
| from a continuance in misery, they will be still more impa- 
tient under an attempt of a similar nature. How far these 
dispositions maybe reasonable, I pretend not to decide, but 
in the extremitv to which we are arrived, policy forbids us 
to add new irritations. Too many of the officers wish to 
get rid of their commissions, but they are unwilling to be 
forced into it. 

« It is not the intention of these remarks to discourage a 
reform, but to show the necessity of guarding against the 
ill effects by an ample provision both for the officers who 
stay and for those who are reduced. This ^should be^the 
basis of the plan." * * * 

« I am convinced Congress are not a little straitened in 
the means of a present provision, so ample as to give satis- 
faction, but this proves the expediency of a future one, and 
brings me to that which I have so frequently recommended 
as the most economical-the most politic, and the most 
effectual that can be devised-a half pay for life." 
I • If the objection drawn from the principle of this measure, 
' heing incompatible with the genius of our Government is 
thought insurmountable, I would propose a substitute less 
eli-nhle, in my opinion, but which may answer the purpose, 
[t is to make the present half pay for seven years whole 
pa, for the same period, to be advanced in two different 
payments, one half in a year after the conclusion of peace, 
the other half in two years subsequently to the first. It 
will be well to have it clearly understood that the reduced 



10 



officers are to have the depreciation of tbeir pay made 
good, lest any doubts should arise on that head." * * 

•' fn reasoning upon the measure of a future provision, I 
have heard gentlemen object the want of it in some foreign 
armies, without adverting to the difference of circum- 
stances. 

"The military profession holds the first rank in most of 
the countries of Europe, and is the road to honor and 
emolument. The establishment is permanent, and what- 
ever be an officer's provision, it is for life ; be has future as 
well as present mot.ves of military honor and preferment. 
He is attached to the service, by the spirit of the Govern- 
ment, by education, and in most cases by early habit. Hi. 
present condition, if not splendid, is comfortable; pen^ ' 
sums, distinctions, and particular privileges, are common* 
ins rewards in retirement. In the case of the American 
officers the military character has been suddenly taken 
up, and is to end with the war. "-7 Sparks, p. 247. 

On the 21st of October, 1780, Congress adopted 
the suggestions of Washington by the passage 
of the resolutions, which constituted the second 
revolutionary stage of this important question. 
I extract from the resolutions: 
« Resolved, That the whole of the troops be enlisted dur- 
ing the war, and join their respective corps by the first day 
of January nest. 

in I? 8 ' T commande ™-<*ief and commanding officer 
n the southern department direct the officers of each State 

Storing a§ree UP ° n the ° ffiCerS f ° r Ule rPgi '» ents t0 be 
raised b } then- respective States, from those who incline to 

ZTToZ r ice - and where jt cannot be do - 1££ 

m«t, to be determmed by seniority, and make return of 

S£ itr to r ain ' which is to be *— *-5 ^con 

gress, together with the names of the officers r P d.„.»H k 
are to be allowed half pay for life dUCCd ' Wh ° 

" That the officers who shall continue in service to tb P 
end of the war shal, be ent.tled to b aI f pav , Z , fe t0 
commence with the time of their reduction >^J otal 
of Congress, vol. 3, p. 538. journal 

thecal 1 Ph1h/, f ,° Ct0ber ' 178 °' Baro " Steuben, 
thZTr PhlladeI P h , Ia » announced to Washington 
the acceptance of his cherished policy, and said: 

fee plat of th the great6St Satisfactio » I ^quaint V** 0* 
Icyseiu to r ngementf ° rthe *»***«■ your Excel- 

ss congress ' has been ■*•* <° •«« »y 

"The granting half pay for life to the reduced officer, has 
met with some objection • vet th„ r2 Z eu " mcers > " as 



J " It was idle to expect that men, who were suffering 
f every species of present distress, with the prospect of inev- 
| itable rum before them, could bear to have the cord of 
discipline strained to its proper tone ; and where that is not 
the case it is no difficult matter to form an idea of the want 
of order, or to convince military men of its consequent 
evils."— 7 Sparks, p. 297. 

The resolutions of Congress, sagacious in 

themselves, were rendered ineffectual by the 
I absence on their part, not only of a national 
, fund, but of their power to enforce the necessary 
i compliance of the States with their requisitions. 
Washington now contemplated a campaign for 
the deliverance of the southern States, and he 
addressed General Sullivan thus: 

" Where are the means ? Means must be found or the 
soldiers will go naked. But I will take the liberty in this 
place to give it as my opinion that a foreign loan is indis- 
pensably necessary to the continuance of the war. 

" Congress will deceive themselves if they imagine that 
the army, or a State that is the theater of war, can rub 
through a second campaign as the last. 

" It would be as unreasonable as to suppose that because 
a man had rolled a snowball til] it had acquired the size of 
a horse, he might do it till it was as large as a house. 

" Matters may be pushed to a certain point, beyond which 
we cannot move them. Ten months' pay is now due to 
the army. Every department of it is so much indebted that 
we have not credit for a single express, and some of the 
States are harassed and oppressed to a degree beyond 
bearing. To depend, under these circumstances, upon the 
resources of the country, unassisted by foreign loans, will, 
t am certain, be to lean upon a broken reed."— 7 Sparks, 

On the 5th of January, 1781, Washington 
(now at Newburgh) appeals to the Governors of 
the States, under circumstances of new and start- 
ling peril: 



Washington expressed his sentiments on the 

wrr T and d theT ina,i n ° f °° n " reS3 l ° "•" a " a W for the 
war and he honorable establishment on which the officers 

S H tTl 7 PerSUad6d ' be *■*•""■ of much 

££ mrt ? o /: measure been adop,ed ' four ' * «■,.„ 

ZZS.lt r ' not the smallest doubt in "»ihd 

ow v a nc? i : 1 ;? d " "^ day haVe bee " si "ing under our 
vvn Vme ; <lnd fi " trees > ^ the full enjoyment of peace and 
.ndependence.and I have as httle doubt that he ^ 
which o^e,, wm nowget upon CQm « 

prove the surest basis of public economy. 



" The event I have long apprehended would be the con- 
sequence of the complicated distresses of the army has 
at length taken place. On the night of the first instant, a 
mutiny was excited by the non-commissioned officers and 
privates of the Pennsylvania line, which soon became so 
universal as to defy all opposition. In attempting to quell 
this tumult, in the first instance, some officers were killed 
others wounded, and the lives of several common soldiers' 
lost. Deaf to the arguments, entreaties, and utmost efforts 
ot their officers to stop them, they moved on from Morris- 
town, the place of their cantonment, with their arms and 
six pieces of artillery; and from accounts just received 
from General Wayne's aid-de-camp, they were still in a 
body on their march to Philadelphia, to demand a redress 
of their grievances. At what point this defection will *t»p 
God only knows." * * * * « nce for all, I give it' 
decidedly as my opinion, that it is in vain to think an army 
can be kept together much longer under such a variety of 
sufferings as ours lias experienced; and that unless some 
immediate and spirited measures are adopted to furnish at 
east three months' pay to the troops in monev, which will 
be of some value to them, and at the same time ways and 
means are devised to clothe and feed them better (more 
regularly I mean) than they h,ave been, the worst that can 
befall us may be expected."— 7 Sparks, p. 352. 

On the 8th of January, 1781, Washington hears 
from General Wayne, that the British army and 



11 



emissaries are attempting to seduce the mutineers 
into the enemy's service: 

" About four o'clock yesterday morning we were waked 
by two sergeants, who produced a letter from the enemy 
inclosed in a small piece of tea lead. They also brought 
under guard two caitiffs who undertook to deliver it to the 
leaders of the malcontents. One of these culprits sayshe 
is a sergeant in Odell's newly-raised corps, and was prom- 
ised a considerable reward on bringing back an answer. 

"The soldiers in general affect to spurn at the idea of 
turning Jlrnolds, as they express it. We have used every 
address to inflame their minds against wretches who would 
dare to insult them by imagining them traitors ; for had 
they thought them virtuous, they would not have carried 
those overtures," — 7 Sparks, p. 359. 

We learn next that the Pennsylvania revolt 
lias reached the New Jersey line, by a circular 
letter addressed to the Governors of the States, 
January 22, 1781: 

"I have received the disagreeable intelligence, that a 
part of the Jersey line had followed the example of that of 
Pennsylvania, and when the advices came away it was 
expected that the revolt would be general. The precise 
intention of the mutineers was not known, but their com- 
plaints and demands were similar to those of the Pennsyl- 
vania^. ** ****** 

" I cannot but renew my solicitations with your State, 
to exert every expedient to contribute to our immediate 
relief."— 7 Sparks, p. 331 . 

At last the disaffection reaches New York. 
Washington writes to Congress, April 8, 1781: 

" t think it is my duty to inform Congress that there is 
great dissatisfaction at this time in the New York line for 
want of pay. Near sixteen months' pay, I am told, is due. 
If it were practicable to give this and the Jersey troops, if 
they are in the same predicament, a small portion of their 
pay, it might stop desertion, which is frequent, and avert 
greater evils, which are otherwise to be apprehended. 

" The four eastern States have given a temporary relief 
to their troops, which makes the case of others — those of 
New York particularly — appear more distressing and griev- 
ous to them." — 8 Sparks, p. 3. 

A year rolls away. The discontents of the 
army continue; but they do not prevent a final 
and conclusive triumph of the cause. 

The surrender of Cornwallis, with his army, 
in October, 1781, at Yorktown, left the enemy 
still in possession of large portions of the country; 
and the necessary means for defense, and, con- 
ditionally, for renewal of hostilities, were now 
hindered and embarrassed by general expecta- 
tions of peace. The final trial of the virtue of the 
American army was at hand. 

Nicola, a colonel, at Newburgh,May22,1782, 
after consulting his fellow officers, approaches 
Washington with that crowning temptation which 
neither Caesar nor Cromwell could refuse: 

" Some people have so connected the ideas of tyranny 
and monarchy as to find it very difficult to separate them. 
It may, therefore, be requisite to give the head of such a 
constitution as I propose, a title apparently more moderate. 
But if all other things were once adjusted, I believe strong 
arguments might be produced for admitting the title of 



King, which, /conceive, would be attended with material 
advantages." — 8 Sparks, p. 302. 

Washington replied in language in which he 
mingled dignity, severity, and sympathy, May 
22, 1782: 

" No occurrence in the course of the war has given me 
more painful sensations than your information of there 
being such ideas existing in the army as you have expressed, 
and I must view with abhorrence, and reprehend with se- 
verity." ******** 

" At the same time, in justice to my own feelings, I must 
add that no man possesses a more sincere wish to see am- 
ple justice done to the army than I do ; and as far as my 
power and influence in a constitutional way extends they 
shall be employed to the utmost of my ability to effect it 
should there be any occasion." — 8 Sparks, p. 300. 

On the 9th of July, 1782, Washington learns 
that a mutiny in the forces under General Greene 
in the South has been arrested: 

" It gives me infinite satisfaction to find that by your pru- 
dence and decision you have put a period to the progress of 
a dangerous mutiny, and by your example of patience and 
firmness, reclaimed the army amidst all their aggravated 
sufferings to that good disposition through the worst of times. 
Their distresses are truly deplorable." — 8 Sparks, p. 317. 

The attention of Congress, as well as that of 
Washington, was brought at last to the neces- 
sary reduction of the army, as a peace establish- 
ment — a measure attended with infinite perplexity 
and danger under the circumstances then exist- 
ing. 

On the 2d of October, 1782, Washington wrote 
the Secretary of War: 

" Without disguise or palliation, I will inform you can- 
didly of the discontents which, at this moment, prevail uni- 
versally throughout the army. The evils of which they 
complain, and which they suppose almost remediless,are the 
total want of money or the means of existing from one day 
to another, the heavy debts they have already incurred, 
the loss of credit, the distress of their families at home, and 
the prospect of poverty and misery before them." * 

" It is vain, sir, to suppose that military men will acqui- 
esce contentedly, with bare rations, when those in the 
civil walk of life, unacquainted with half the hardships 
they endure, are regularly paid the emoluments of office. 
While the human mind is influenced by the same passions 
and inclinations this cannotbe." * * * * 
" The officers also complain of other hardships, which they 
think might and ought to be remedied without delay." * 
* * * * " And particularly the leaving of the 
compensation for their services in a loose equivocal state, 
without ascertaining their claims upon the public, or making 
provision for the future payment of them. 

" While I premise that no one I have seen or heard of 
appears opposed to the principle of reducing the army, as 
circumstances may require, yet I cannot help fearing the 
result of the measure in contemplation under present cir- 
cumstances, when I see such a number of men goaded by 
a thousand stings of reflection on the past, and anticipation 
on the future, about to be turned into the world, soured by 
penury, and what they call the ingratitude of the public, 
involved in debts without one farthing of money to carry 
them home, after having spent the flower of their days, and 
many of them their patrimonies, in establishing the freedom 
and independence of their country, and suffered everything 



12 



that human nature is capable of enduring, on this side of 
death." ** * * * *** 

" On the other hand, could the officers be placed in as 
good a situation as when they came into service, the con- 
tention, I am persuaded, would be, not who should con- 
tinue in the field, but who should retire to private life." 

" I could give anecdotes of patriotism and distress which 
have scarcely ever been paralleled — never surpassed — in 
the history of mankind ; but you may rely upon it, the 
patience and long-suffering of this army are almost ex- 
hausted, and that there never was so great a spirit of dis- 
content as at this instant. While in the field, I think it 
may be kept from breaking out into acts of outrage ; but 
when we retire into winter quarters, unless the storm is 
previously dissipated, I cannot be at ease respecting the 
consequences. It is high time for a peace." — 8 Sparks, 
p. 353. 

The reply of General Lincoln, the Secretary 
of War, points to the unfinished settlement of 
the half pay of the officers, as a chief element in 
the present danger. He wrote, October 14, 1782: 

" From the knowledge I have of the temper of Congress, 
I have little expectation that the matter of half pay, to 
which, I suppose, you allude, will be in a better situation 
than it now is, until it shall be recommended by Congress 
to the several States to provide for their own officers." 

" You know, sir, that no moneys can be appropriated 
but by the voice of nine States. There was not that num- 
ber in favor of half pay when the vote to grant it passed in 
Congress, which was a vote before the Confederation was 
signed and practiced upon, but is not now. I see little 
probability that a sum equal to the half pay will be appro- 
priated to that purpose, and apportioned on the several 
States." * * * * " In the first place, there 
s too great a part of the Union opposed to the half pay to 
think of carrying it through. The States in the opposition 
cannot be coerced. They say that they are willing to make 
a handsome compensation by compromise, and they will 
give a sum which will be just and honorable. From this it 
will be difficult, if not impossible, to persuade them to de- 
part." ********* 

" It will be much the best for the army to be referred to 
their several States, and their expectations will end in 
chagrin and disappointment if they look for half pay from 
Congress. 

" They cannot appropriate any part of the sum to this 
use which shall be annually apportioned on the several 
States, for the reasons I mentioned before — there are not 
nine States in favor of it. Should it be said that it may be 
paid out of the revenue of some general tax, it will not re- 
move the objection. 

" The money arising from these general taxes must also 
be appropriated, if such taxes were passed. No one of 
those proposed has yet passed, and T see little probability 
that any of them will soon, if ever."— 8 Sparks, p. 356. 

The agitation now assumes a menacing form. 
On the 14th of December, 1782, Washington 
writes to Joseph Jones in Congress: 

"In the course of a few days, Congress will, I expect, 
receive an address from the army on the subject of their 
grievances. The address, though couched in very respect- 
ful terms, is one of those things which, though unpleasing, 
is just now unavoidable; for I was very apprehensive once 
that matters would take a more unfavorable turn from the 
variety of discontents which prevail." * * * * 



" The dissatisfactions of the army had arisen to a great 
and alarming height, and combinations among the officers 
to resign at given periods in a body were beginning to take 
place, when, by some address and management, their res- 
olutions have been converted into the form in which they 
will now appear before Congress." ***** 
" No part of the community has undergone equal hardships, 
and borne them with the same patience and fortitude, as 
the army has done. 

" Hitherto, the officers have stood between the lower 
order of the soldiery and the public, and, in more instances 
than one, at the hazard of their lives, have quelled very 
dangerous mutinies ; but, if their discontents should be suf- 
fered to rise equally high, I know not what the consequences 
may be. 

"The spirit of enthusiasm which overcame everything 
at first is now done away. It is idle, therefore, to expect 
more from military men than from those discharging the 
civil departments of Government. If both were to fare 
alike with respect to the emoluments of office, I would 
answer for it, that the military should not be the first to 
complain. But it is an invidious distinction, and one that 
will not stand the test of reason or policy, that one set 
should receive all, and the other no part (or that which is 
next to it) of their pay." — 8 Sparks, p. 369. 

The crisis came at last, and disclosed itself in 
a ripening conspiracy at Newburgh. On the 
12th of March, 1783, Washington thus touch- 
ingly alludes to that fearful transaction in a let- 
ter to a friend in Congress: 

" It is generally believed that the scheme was not only 
planned, but also digested and matured in Philadelphia." 
* * * "As soon as the minds of the army were 
thought to be prepared fortlie transaction, anonymous invi- 
tations were circulated requesting a general meeting of the 
officers the next day. At the same instant, many copies 
of the address to the officers of the army were scattered in 
every State line of it. So soon as I obtained a knowledge 
of these things, I issued the order of the 11th, transmitted 
to Congress, in order to rescue the foot that stood wavering 
on the precipice of despair, from taking those steps which 
would have led to the abyss of misery." * * 
" I did this upon the principle that it is easier to divert from 
a wrong to a right path, than to recall hasty and fatal stepi 
that have been already taken." — 8 Sparks, p. 394. 

On the 16th of March, 1783, Washington made 
a full report of the same transaction to Congress, 
and also made it the occasion for an appeal that 
was as noble in spirit as it was affecting and irre- 
sistible: 

"The result of the proceedings of the grand convention 
of officers which I have the honor of inclosing to your Ex- 
cellency for the inspection of Congress, will, I flatter myself, 
be considered as the last glorious proof of patriotism which 
could have been given by men who aspired to the distinc- 
tion of a patriot army, and will not only confirm their 
claim to the justice-, but will increase their title to the grat- 
itude of their country." ****** 

" Being impressed with the lively sentiments of affection 
for those who have so long, so patiently, and so cheerfully 
suffered and fought under my immediate direction, having, 
from motives of justice, duty, and gratitude, spontaneously 
offered myself as an advocate for their rights" * * 

" It now only remains for me to perform the task I have 
assumed, and to intercede in their behalf as I now do, that 
the sovereign power will be pleased to verify the predictions 



13 



I have pronounced, and the confidence the army have re- 
posed in the justice of their country. 

« I humbly conceive it is altogether unnecessary, while I 
am pleading the cause of an army which has done and suf- 
fered more than any other army ever did in the defense of 
the rights and liberties of human nature, to expatiate on 
their claims to the most ample compensation for their mer- 
itorious services, because they are perfectly known to the 
whole world, and because, although the topics are inex- 
haustible, enough has already been said on the subject." 

"That in the critical and perilous moment my commu- 
ni«n«on (of October 11, 1780) was made, there was the 
utmost danger that a dissolution of the army would take 
place unless measures similar to those then recommen- 
ded had been adopted, will not admit a doubt. That the 
adoption of the resolution, granting half pay for life, has 
bean attended with all the happy consequences I had fore- 
told, so far as respected the good of the service, let the 
astonishing contrast between the state of the army at this 
instant and at the former period determine ; and that the 
establishment of funds and securities for the payment of all 
the just demands of the army, will be the most certain means 
of preserving the national faith and the future tranquillity of 
this extensive continent, is my decided opinion. 

« Instead of retracting and reprehending, from further ex- 
perience and reflection, the mode of compensation so strenu- 
ously urged heretofore, I am more and more confirmed in the 
sentiment, and if in the wrong, suffer me to please myself 
with the grateful delusion ; for if, besides the simple payment 
of their wages, a further compensation is not due to the 
sufferings and sacrifices of the officers, then I have been 
mistaken indeed. If the whole army have not merited 
whatever a grateful people can bestow, then have I been 
beguiled by prejudice, and built opinion on the basis of 
error. If this country should not, in the event, perform 
everything which has been requested in the late memorial 
to Congress, then will my belief become vain, and the hope 
that has been excited void of foundation. 

"And if, as has been suggested for the purpose of inflam- 
ing their passions, the officers of the army are to be the only 
sufferers by this resolution ; if, retiring from the field, they 
are to grow old in poverty, wretchedness, and contempt; 
if. they are to wade through the vile mire of dependency, 
and owe the miserable remnant of that life to charity which 
has hitherto been spent in honor, then shall I have learned 
what ingratitude is; then shall I have realized a tale which 
will embitter every moment of my future life. But I am 
under no such apprehensions. A country rescued by their 
arms from impending ruin will never leave unpaid the debt 
of gratitude."— S Sparks, p. 396. 

Three days afterwards, Washington expressed 
his sentiments on the same subject with fervor 
and eloquence in a letter written to Governor 
Harrison: 

" You have not been altogether unacquainted, I dare 
say, with the fears, the hopes, the apprehensions, and the 
expectations of the army, relative to provision which is to 
be made for them hereafter. Although a firm reliance on 
the integrity of Congress, and the belief that the public 
would finally do justice to all its servants, and give an 
indisputable security for the payment of the half pay of the 
officers, had kept them amidst a variety of sufferings tolera- 
bly quiet and contented, yet the total want of pay, the little 
prospect of receiving any from the unpromising suite of the 
public finances, and the absolute aversion of the States to 
estab^hany continental funds for the payment of the debt 



due the army, did, at the close of the last campaign, excite 
greater discontents, and threatened more serious and alarm- 
ing consequences, than it is easy for me to describe or you 
to conceive." 

Then referring 
adds: 



to the Newburgh meeting, he 



" An anonymous writer, though he did not step forth and 
give his name boldly to the world, sent into circulation an 
address to the officers of the army, which in point of com- 
position, of eloquence and force, has rarely been equaled 
in the English language, and in which the dreadful alter- 
native was proposed of relinquishing the service in a body, 
or retaining their arms in time of peace until Congress 
should comply with all their demands." * * 

" Notwithstanding the storm has now passed over— not- 
withstanding the officers have, in despite of their accumu- 
lated sufferings, given the most unequivocal and exalted 
proofs of patriotism, yet I believe, unless justice shall be 
done, and funds effectually provided for the payment of the 
debt, the most deplorable and ruinous consequences may 
be apprehended. Justice, honor, gratitude, policy, every- 
thing is opposed to the conduct of driving men to despair 
of obtaining their just rights after serving seven years of 
painful life in the field. I say in the field, because they 
have not during that period had anything to shelter them 
from the inclemency of the seasons but tents, and such 
houses as they could build for themselves."— 8 Sparks, p. 
403. 

On such considerations of the great question as 
these, Congress on the 17th of March met it with 
those resolutions of compromise and commuta- 
tion which formed its third and last revolution- 
ary stage: 

"Whereas the officers of the several lines, under the 
immediate command of his Excellency General Washing- 
ton, did by their late memorial transmitted by their com- 
mittee, represent to Congress that the half pay granted by 
sundry resolutions was regarded in an unfavorable light by 
the citizens of some of these States, who would prefer a 
compensation, for a limited term of years, of by a sum in 
gross to an establishment for life, and did on that account 
solicit a commutation of their half pay, for an equivalent in 
one of the two modes above mentioned, in order to remove 
aU subjects of dissatisfaction from the minds of their fellow- 
citizens : and whereas Congress are desirous, as well of grat- 
ifying the reasonable expectations of the officers of the 
army as removing all objections which may exist in any part 
of the United States to the principle of the half pay estab- 
lishment, for which the faith of the United States has been 
pledged, persuaded that those objections can only arise from 
the nature of the compensation, not from any indisposition 
to compensate those whose services, sacrifices, and suffer- 
ings have so just a title to the approbation and rewards 
of their country. 

" 2. Therefore, resolved, That such officers as are now in 
service, and shall continue therein to the end of the war, 
shall be entitled to receive the amount of five years' full pay 
in money or securities, on interest at six per cent, per an- 
num, as Congress shall find most convenient, instead of the 
half pay for life by the resolution of the 21st day of October, 
1780 ; and said securities to be such as shall be given to 
the other creditors of the United States: Provided, It be 
at the option of the fines of the respective States, and not 
of officers individually in those lines, to accept or refuse 
the same. 
« 3. The same commutation shall extend to the corps not 



14 



belonging to the lines of particular States." — Journal of 
Congress, March 22, 1783. 

The announcement of the cessation of hostili- 
ties between the United States and Great Britain 
wasmade on the 18th of April, 1783. No provision 
for paying the debts due to the army was made. 
The jealousies of the States rendered the Con- 
federation still more powerless than ever. 

On the 8th of June, 1783, Washington an- 
nounced the proposed disbanding of the army to 
the Governors of the several States, and thus de- 
fended and insisted on the provision which had 
been 23romised to the officers of the army: 

" The resolutions of Congress now alluded to (resolutions 
eoncerning half-pay and commutation) are undoubtedly as 
absolutely binding upon the United States as the most 
solemn acts of confederation or legislation. 

" As to the idea, which I am .informed has in some in- 
stances prevailed, that the half pay and commutation are 
to be regarded merely in the odious light of a pension, it 
ought to be exploded forever. That provision should be 
viewed as it really was, a reasonable compensation offered 
by Congress at a time when they had nothing else to give 
the officers of the army for service then to be performed. 
It was the only means to prevent a total dereliction of 
the service. It was a part of their hire. I may be allowed 
to say it was the price of their blood, and your independ- 
ency. It is therefore more than a common debt — it is a 
debt of honor. It can never be considered as a pension 
or gratuity, nor be canceled until it is fairly discharged. 
With regard to distinction between officers and soldiers, it 
is sufficient that the uniform experience of every nation of 
die world proves the utility and propriety of the discrimina- 
tion. 

" Rewards in proportion to the aid which the public 
derives from them, are unquestionably due to all its ser- 
vants. In some lines the soldiers have, perhaps, generally 
had as ample compensation for their services, by the large 
bounties which have been paid to them, as their officers 
will receive in the proposed commutation. In others, if 
besides the donations of lands, the payment of arrearages 
of clothing and of wages, we take into estimate the boun- 
ties many of the soldiers have received, and the gratuity of 
one years' full pay, which is promised to all, possibly their 
situation, every circumstance being duly considered, will 
not be deemed less eligible than that of the officers. Should 
a further reward, however, be judged equitable, I will ven- 
ture to assert, no one will enjoy greater satisfaction than 
myself." * * ****** 

" Cut neither the adoption nor rejection of this proposi- 
tion will in any manner affect, much less militate against the 
act of Congress, by which they have been offered five years' 
full pay, in lieu of the half pay for life, which had before 
been promised to the officers of the army." — 8 Sparks, p. 
44S. 

The Commander-in-Chief dwelt once more upon 
the same solemn pledges and obligations with 
emphasis inspired by the occasion, in his Fare- 
well Address to the Army, issued at Princeton, 
November 2, 1783: 

" It is not the meaning, nor within the compass, of this 
address to detail the hardships peculiarly incident to our 
service, or to describe the distresses which, in several 
instances, have resulted from the extremes of hunger and 
nakedness, combined with the rigors of an inclement 



season, nor is it necessary to dwell on the dark side of our 
past affairs. 

"Every American officer and soldier must now console 
himself for any unpleasant circumstances which may have 
occurred by a recollection of the uncommon scenes in 
which he has been called to act no inglorious a part, and 
the astonishing events of which he has been a witness — 
events which have seldom if ever before taken place on 
the stage of human action, nor can they probably ever 
happen again." ******** 

" Nor is it possible to conceive that any one of the United 
States will prefer a national bankruptcy, and a dissolution 
of the Union, to a compliance with the requirements of 
Congress, and the payment of its just debts, so that the 
officers and soldiers may expect considerable assistance hi 
recommencing their civil occupations, from the sums due 
to them from the public, which must, and will, most inevit- 
ably, be paid." * *'■ * * * * * * 

" Let it be remembered that the unbiased voice of the 
free citizens of the United States has promised the jnst 
reward, and given the merited applause." — 9 Sparks, p. 
491. 

Washington, who had served his country 
throughout eight years of unparalleled labor, 
care, and anxiety, and with such complete suc- 
cess, refusing all forms of compensation, sur- 
rendered his commission to Congress on the 23d 
day of December, 1783, and returned to Mount 
Vernon. 

A letter from Governor Trumbull, of Connec- 
ticut, met him there, which was concluded in 
these ominous words: 

" So exceedingly jealous is the spirit of this Stare at pres- 
ent respecting the powers and the engagements of Con- 
gress, arising principally from their aversion to the half pay 
and commutation granted to the army — principally, I say, 
arising from this cause. It is but too true that some few 
are wicked enough to hope that, by this means of clamor, 
they may be able to rid themselves of the whole public debt, 
by introducing so much confusion into public measures 
as shall eventually produce a general abolition of the 
whole."— 9 Sparlts, pp. 5 and 6. 

To this desponding message, George Washing- 
ton, now no longer commander, general, or even 
soldier, but private citizen, replied: 

" Mount Vernon, January 5, 1784. 
" Everything, my dear Trumbull, will come right at 
last. My only fear is, that we shall lose a little reputation 

first." 

It is not known to what extent the officers, 
acting in State lines, according to the require- 
ment of the resolution of March 22, 1783, ac- 
cepted the terms of commutation. But in Novem- 
ber of that year, a certificate from the Continental 
treasury, stating that five years' full pay, with 
interest from November 4, 1783, was payable to 
the officers described in that resolution, was sent 
to each of them. Neither the Continental Con- 
gress nor the States (with few exceptions) ever 
provided for paying the certificates, and so they 
remained unpaid and entirely neglected until the 
reorganization of the Federal Government under 
the new Constitution. They sank immediately 
after the issue, and reached a depreciation of eight 



15 



dollars to one par value, and were generally dis- 
posed of at that sacrifice. On the 1st of Decem- 
ber, 1791, they were funded in a stock bearing 
three per cent, interest. 

The bill now under consideration assumes that 
the commutation failed, and that the officers were 
thereby remitted to the half pay for life; and pro- 
vides for paying it to them, their widows and 
children, under certain limitations, after deduct- 
ing therefrom the par or nominal value of the 
certificates of commutation. 

George Washington, by temper, knowledge, 
and impartiality, was qualified to be witness, 
advocate, and umpire between the officers of the 
army of the Revolution and the American Gov- 
ernment and people. In all human history he is 
the only man who could acceptably fill and dis- 
charge the duties of these conflicting characters. 
1 have therefore abstained from drawing into the 
case any facts, or arguments, or authorities, other 
than those contained in his own immortal words. 
Standing on them, I claim that the half pay for 
life pledged to the officers was a debt, a just debt, 
a constitutional one, with all the attributes of a 
common debt; and that it was more than a com- 
mon debt — a debt of honor and of gratitude, the 
equivalents of which were the blood of the offi- 
cers and the independence of the country; that it 
was a perpetual debt, therefore, which couldnever 
be canceled until it was fully and fairly paid. 

It was not fully and fairly paid by the promise 
of commutation; which promise was never exe- 
cuted, nor attempted to be executed, until after 
nine years' procrastination, in no degree resulting 
from any fault of the officers, but solely from the 
misfortunes and embarrassments of the country, 
which was the debtor; and when the attempt 
to execute it was then made, the payment made 
reached only those brokers who had speculated 
in the ruin of the officers, and not the officers 
themselves, who were the creditors. 

I reject the idea ef a contract or bargain be- 
tween the creditors and the country in the trans- 
action of commutation, for there was no equality 
of position or advantage between the parties. 
Their relations were reversed. The army had 
been the defenders of the country — the country 
had now become the protector and guardian of the 
army. I agree that the embarrassments of the 
country excused it from paying or sustaining the 
commutation certificates' nine years, and that it 
did wisely and well in then paying them to the 
holders; but the debt being one of gratitude and 
honor, it remained nevertheless, and remained 
due to the officers who, under the pressure of 
poverty resulting from the public distress, not 
any fault of their own, had sold their certificates 
for nominal values. 

The obligation to pay the officers, or to reim- 
burse them to the extent of their annuities for 
life, revived with the renewed or restored ability 
and strength of the country. 
In the blaze of the revolutionary light now 



thrown upon the subject, the subtilties and re- 
finements which have obscured and perplexed it 
disappear; such as this, that equal debts are due 
to other classes of officers more meritorious than 
those now to be paid; that equal debts are due to 
the militia and to the common creditors of the coun- 
try; that this debt ought to be paid, not to the chil- 
dren of the officers, but to the officers themselves; 
and if to children, then equally to grandchildren 
when children do not survive; and that it ought 
to be paid neither to the officers nor to the chil- 
dren, but to the creditors; and that some persons 
who are rich and great will be made richer by an 
act whose general operation will be to benefit and 
bless the poor and lowly; and that some of the 
officers who, in the persons of their children, will 
be the recipients of this benefaction, were per- 
sonally unworthy, and that agents and specula- 
tors will profit by it. The bill stands on the 
policy established by Washington, after a full 
trial of opposing theories and speculations. 

So far as is practicable, consistently with recon- 
ciling conflicting objections, the bill is guarded 
against apprehended abuses and dangers. Either 
these claims justly stand on the basis of a moral 
obligation which imperatively requires the as- 
sumption of Congress, or they stand on the basis 
of a debt actually existing, but needing provision 
for its payment. In either case Congress may 
rightfully direct the discharge of the obligation or 
the debt in the manner most agreeable to equity 
and good conscience. To those, if there be any, 
who cannot consent to pay these claims, amount- 
ing in the aggregate to two and a half millions, be- 
cause they fear that many others will remain un- 
paid, I recall the sorrow of Lord Bacon on a simi- 
lar occasion: "Would to God that I were hooded, 
that I saw less, or that I could perform more, for 
now I see occasion of service, but cannot fly, be- 
cause I am tied to another fist". 

To those, if any, who shall object the lapse 
of time, I reply, in the language of one who, 
though he had served his king too well, and was 
starving on his unperformed engagements, was 
rebuked for unreasonable importunity: " Your 
good promises sleep, which it may seem now no 
time to awaken, but that I do not find any general 
calendar of observation of time serveth for a 
court." 

To those, if there be such, who know no policy 
in the finance of a free country always prosperous 
and rich because always at peace, but that parsi- 
mony which unjustly confiscates in civil adminis- 
tration that it may have the necessary means for 
war and oppression, I beg leave to say, that it 
was j ustly held in Rome that a State was contained 
in two words, premium and pana, and that this 
principle has come to be a part of our own reli- 
gion by our acceptance of the precept which 
teaches that governors are sent by the Supreme 
Ruler, for the punishment of evildoers, and for 
the praise of them that do well. 
Mr. President, we have framed statues of brass 



16 



and iron which present Washington to the be- 
holder as a general, as a statesman, as a magis- 
trate, and as a citizen. We have pierced the 
skies with monuments of marble and of granite in 
honor of his name. We have imposed it upon 
villages, towns, cities, a State, and a capital that 
is becoming the glory of a continent; but, if I do 
not altogether mistake his genius, the fulfillment 



of his predictions and his promises, made when 
he was taking leave of the companions of his 
labors and sufferings, that his country would be 
just, and would ultimately redeem the pledges it 
had given them, will be more acceptable to his 
serene and awful shade than all the tributes which 
have been paid, and all that are yet to be paid, by 
a redeemed nation and a grateful world. 



